found space

bart & i headed to the international district on saturday afternoon to do some exploring; wing luke asian museum, kobo shop & gallery, momo & the kinokuniya book store. wing luke was a gorgeous space, the relfection rooms/stairwells especially. the george tsukawa exhibit was interesting as well as the photographs of 1920s cannery workers; some of the others seemed unfinished or thrown together without a lot of heart. i recommend going, but i say it's an experience about the space & the architectural & design details.

i also recommend visiting neighboring stores kobo & momo, both have fun inventory. i picked up a cute egg press card & some soaps, a great place for a pretty gift.

if you still have some energy (you'll need a lot), stop by kinokuniya book store for a sheet of puffy stickers, japanese crafting books or some of chronicle books latest artist collections.

holy mary!

it turned out good, real good. i was going to post a tutorial, but i'll save that for next year. it was a simple project & possibly one of the cheapest i've made so far. the veil was a sheet from value village & all of the trimmings were on sale at jo-ann fabric. i think i spent $10 total.

san francisco was a lot of fun. we spent friday in the mission & celebrating halloween in lower haight, saturday at rachel getting married (go see it, it's touching) followed by dinner & drinks in north beach & sunday we walked down clement, visited park life & strolled through the park. it was such a gorgeous weekend with my ladies.

quick hawaii download

most of the deotte clan (& more clearly, my feet) made it to hawaii for my cousin carrie's wedding. my short trip was filled with ample beach time & a large amount of family time (which really means eating, drinking & smartass time). maui was beautiful, warm & sunny. my parents, brother & i stayed in between wailea & kihei; our balcony had panoramic views & was enjoyed most mornings with coffee & a book (i finally finished under the banner of heaven). after the slow mornings we'd head to the beach for some sun & surf. the water was warm & we spent hours playing in the waves; the waves at big beach were monsters & my dad was hard core in getting in on some washing machine action. after the beach we'd head home for lunch & some poolside beverages. let's face it - the deottes enjoy laying in the sun. the luau we attended for the rehearsal dinner was out of control; good food, beautiful music & shiny buff men in very little clothing. my final night was spent at carrie & adam's wedding, it was just perfect. i won't go into all the gushing about the location, the dress or the food - i'll just say, it was perfect. i'm so happy that i got to see my extended family & celebrate this occasion with them. mahalo!

go here for more pics

off to hawaii - don't hate

i'm off to hawaii for the next few days & here's a fun fact to get you through the day: haole used to be the hawaiian term for foreigner, but now is used often to refer to blondes.

i decided to actually take a blogger break. i'll see you all on monday! enjoy this lovely image from millie motts.

bad desire - allison manch

i caught an article about grey lounge, i mentioned it to a friend, that friend mentioned a free set there as part of decibel festival on saturday, i went with her. i really liked the space, the staff was really friendly, drinks were cheap (for happy hour) & the cheese board was yummy. but most importantly - i loved the show, bad desire by allison manch.

from the grey website, "bad desire, a collection of embroidered narratives, highlights the crux of love, sex & yearning. manch draws themes from squandered romance and contemplates her own fateful memoir using contemporary myth and motif. she integrates embroidery on collected and black-washed handkerchiefs. the exhibition imagery contains jewelry, wild animals and pop music lyrics, which refer to innate as well as gluttonous sources of yearning."

i loved it all & would have given a pinky toe to go to her diy night in the lounge in august. grab a bevy for happy hour & check out her show through the 4th of october.

found city

bart & i went to santa cruz last weekend. needless to say i'm as red a lobster & completely convinced that i need to live in a beach town. we had such a wonderful time walking along the ocean bluffs, laying on the beach and strolling downtown. everything seemed so, california. california the way i imagined it as a kid; surfers scattering the beach, carnivals along a boardwalk, bright green yards in front of mid-century architecture. sighhh - i loved it. a couple other side notes: we went & saw tell no one at the nick, you must see; visit the red room if you are ever in santa cruz, you'll feel rebellious & sexy; get breakfast at the saturn, perfect breakfast spot - vegetarian greasy spoon with all the hippy love you every wanted at 10am; get some baked goodness at kelly's french bakery, located in an old brussel sprout packing warehouse; finally, visit natural bridges, it's gorgeous & a nice alternative to the hustle of the pier.

found graphics

the saint on capitol hill. the drinks are pricey & it seems a little out of place - but i love the colors & signage. i must also mention that the shrimp dish was really good.

cal anderson

more of my cal anderson love.

here is the artwork i did on behalf of my firm for the summer posters & calendar. i'm really excited for all the fun stuff planned - mostly outdoor preview of the incredible shrinking woman hosted by three dollar cinema & the seattle bike-in. woot woot.

dolce vita arrives in ballard

if you want to visit a beautiful shop that carries a ton of beautiful clothes & shoes, then you must visit dolce vita on ballard ave. the store carries a variety of brands, including their own. i just had to try on this dress & then this one almost went home with me. it's spendy, but the clothes are unique, well made & well worth it.

as much as the clothing, the space was out of control, located in the g.b. sangdon building. the owner takes great pride in interior & their staff seemed quite proud & happy to share the details - wallpaper hand printed in belgium, custom blown glass chandelier from denmark (or germany, i can't remember), etc. you must stop by the next time you are in the neighborhood.

portland trio

i spent the weekend in portland; among so many great sites, shops & restaurants, i'd like to highlight three as my places of the week.



















first is the ace hotel, it would take me a day or more to tell you about how cool this place is. all of the architectural & interior details have such intention - from room numbers to the lobby photo booth, hand soaps to the mini bar, lobby terrariums to reused signage. even the lobby atm machine has a matching covering. beyond the tangible, the ace hotel has a really hip feel without being pretentious; people choose to hang out in the lobby, lounging on their comfy couch, reading a supplied stock of magazines & newspapers & of course, people watching. i shouldn't forget to mention that it's in a great part of town, reasonably priced, staffed with friendly people & next door to stumptown coffee, clyde commons & kenny & zukes.























portland modern in nob hill, you should go there. they have a lot (i mean a lot) of moderately priced mid-century furniture. i almost moved in.
















finally is upper playground. we stumbled on this place while looking for an urban vinyl toy store. i bought two shirts & longed to purchase many more. i'm wearing this right now, bought this one too & almost walked out with this. this is one of 5 retail spaces for the upper playground collaborative, a group of photographers, illustrators, musicians & much more in california, oregon & the uk. the space has a lot of natural light, the walls of the store are filled with beautiful murals & 90% of the playlist was on my faves list.

vain - hair.shop.art

vain is my favorite place in seattle this week. this salon - boutique - gallery is on 1st ave in belltown, located in a fantastic old brick building. it's late & i have to go to bed soon, so i'm giving you a bullet list of why it's the best place to get your hair &/or makeup done.

• there is a fireplace surrounded by great mid-century furniture in the waiting area.
• a full supply of affordable, local goods (shirts, hats, jewelry & paper goods).
• they feature all stylist profiles online so you can pick the best stylist for your hair type.
• bijou is an amazing stylist. plane & simple - best haircut in seattle. bijou cut most of my hair off on my first visit; she took the time to look at pics with me & offer suggestions. on my second visit i wanted to go even shorter, but got cold feet - she was right there to convince me that we could do what i wanted without any pressure or hesitance. i'd like to continue to go off about how great she is, but you should just book her for your next cut.
• makeup artist on staff, christine - they often do free sessions on saturdays. she finally taught me how to use brushes & get smoky eyes in a way that i feel comfortable with.

image from vain

sunny days

i had set some goals about posting about a new place to visit or shop every monday. my place today is seattle when it's 80 & sunny. i spent all weekend outside & am feeling happy about a little sunburn on my arms & back. friday really started all of this with dante's & an outdoor lunch, a work party & nas at the showbox sodo. saturday started off with a sunny breakfast, a bike ride around lake union, 3 wonderful hours on my favorite people's (craig & ragan) boat & happy hour on teresa's roof (where she fed us well as usual). it was a wonderful day filled with sun & great people. sunday was the best kind of summer day - lots of random meetings. the day started in the park with divya & rachel, moved to the farmer's market with teresa, natalie, divya & i, coffee outside at top pot, pedicures & meatsticks (sometimes you just need one), a bike ride to ivars with marques, chris, justin & yachi (joined by the d, g & rachel) & finished up with a cool down on lost episodes at marques's. phew.

items of note & highlights:
- the house boats on lake union are so great. lots of character & color
- lake washington is kind of cold, but not as bad as i thought
- teresa has an amazing roof view & is one of my favorite people to be fed by
- on summer evenings, the seattle sky has the most amazing tone & feels so warmly lit
- the farmer's market is back & i couldn't be happier
- ivar's has great happy hour full of oyster shooters & fish & chips
- my bike is in intensive care. i am in need of a new one asap

i am working on uploading a slideshow. for more pics

all city coffee

i stopped in to all city coffee for the first time on saturday night to pay a visit to the atomic lead stop on the georgetown artwalk. the shop is beautiful, the cofee fantastic & the interior details had me entranced - i often dazed out because i was admiring the texture of the lamp shades. it looks like there is one in pioneer square as well, their interior space led me to swithyco furntiture. steve withycombe is a furniture maker & fabricator that is a co-owner of the coffee house. his work (in my novice opinion) feels mid-century meets industrial; he often uses found & discarded materials.

antiques at pike place

this is a great antique mall in downtown seattle, right near the market. teresa & i discovered this place a while back when she scored a few great pieces including a bench, toile chair & gold mirror. they keep a little bit of everything & the shop owner is very helpful. while most of the stuff they carry is great, i especially love their estate jewelry & mid-century rooms. there is an abundance of old photography which is always fun to go through, as well as a lot of great milk glass & ceramics.

blue bottle gallery

this weekend was warmish so on sunday afternoon i headed out to see what was new at blue bottle on pike. a sweet little space with a small exhibit loft is run by husband & wife duo andrea & matthew porter; they sell everything from limited edition prints to jewelry, tea towels to belt buckles & paper goods to original artwork. i definitely recommend stopping in the next time you are out & about in seattle.

more pics

faire gallery & cafe

a few months ago divya & i went to faire gallery & cafe on capitol hill; she's a regular there, but it was my first time. my initial reactions were that the staff (owners matt & liz) were really nice, the drinks & food were yummy & the space was so warm & comfortable. after spending some more time there throughout the summer; it seems to me that faire is much more than the typical cafe, even more than the fantastic cafe. the space & the people that frequent it are really open & welcoming (once an old, dusty bookstore).

on sunday nights you'll find that faire is packed full of an eclectic mix of patrons there to see & hear faire play (the weekly jazz group). i went last night for the first time; div & i enjoyed a couple glasses of wine & the music sitting up in the balcony. it's the type of place you pass on your way to somewhere else, stop in & end up forgetting where you planned on going in the first place.

walkscore

i saw a post on sightline's daily score talking about the new website that calculates the walkability of your neighborhood, walkscore. simply enter your address & up pops businesses in your neighborhood (all places tagged are pulled from google). the sight also gives your a rating, my apartments is 92 out of 100. quoted from sightline, "walk score does not count every single business within a one-mile walkshed... it calculates the distance to the closest business in each of a list of commonly used categories such as grocery stores, restaurants, and coffee shops. it assigns points based on the distance to these amenities, then averages the score. this simpler strategy works well and generates great maps."

gone to vain

i cut my hair off on monday. i haven't determined whether it's really drastic or really safe; either way i will not be posting pictures of myself (but i'm posting the picture i took to the stylist saying, "i like this, but just shorter") because i like people's reactions in the real world. there seems to be an underlying feeling that all women look better with long hair, so people often give me the "ooooh, her long hair was so much nicer" look while saying, "you got your hair cut..." there's this awkward moment where some people are deciding whether or not to edit their opinion (i mostly look forward to this encounter with chris my most blunt friend next to divya, who i believe has already approved or at least she wasn't all awkward, giving false compliments at first site).

this whole post is less about me & more about vain & my new favorite stylist bijou. first, vain is a combo hair salon, art gallery & retail front in belltown. the space is huge, with open architecture & has great music playing. you can also check most stylist's profiles online. second, bijou was a great stylist, i got a fun cut at a really reasonable price. she was really sweet, chatty but not conversationally pushy; i also have to mention that she could have fit in my pocket & looked a lot like lily allen. i had a great experience at vain, i suggest checking it out if you're in the market for a new stylist.